Football

Taking the next step in making a standalone football complex come to life, the Florida Gators announced Wednesday that the program has chosen HOK, a firm based in Kansas City, to design the new building being constructed as part of a $100 million facility upgrade being made by the University Athletic Association.

“We are excited to partner with HOK to design our football operations facility and student-athlete dining hall,” said Chip Howard, executive associate athletic director for internal affairs. “The overall knowledge that the team at HOK has of our facilities stood out during the presentation process and their firm is an industry leader in athletic facilities.”

Some of HOK’s most recent projects include the brand new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the renovation to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami and a variety of facilities for Auburn, Clemson, Louisville and LSU.

The three-story complex is estimated to cost $60 million, take up 130,000 square feet and sit across from Sanders Practice Fields and the indoor practice facility constructed ahead of the 2015 season.

Below is a unofficial proposed rendering likely part of HOK’s proposal to Florida.

Groundbreaking is slated for December 2017 with the facility expected to open ahead of 2019 summer practice.

“The football operations project is going to have a significant impact on the daily experience of our student-athletes and staff,” athletic director Scott Stricklin said in a release. “This facility represents a substantial commitment on behalf of Florida Athletics and Gator Boosters to ensure Gator coaches, players and staff are able to perform as efficiently as possible, while the new dining hall will benefit all 500-plus Florida student-athletes.”

Before any of that can begin, however, the Gators must hire a construction management firm, choose a final design and get every significant step approved by the university and state of Florida.

2 Comments

I felt the University missed on hiring NBBJ for the O’Dome… the move to hire HOK shows their ability to move away from the standards of our traditional campus design and make some waves with a more cutting edge design firm. It’ll be fun to watch them develop this facility!

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